# 2019 Hummingbird Tread



## NextJen

Has anyone seen any yet?
Have you put out your feeders?

I think I'll get mine put out this weekend in case there are any early birds migrating through headed further north.


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## Grumpy

NextJen said:


> Has anyone seen any yet?
> Have you put out your feeders?
> 
> I think I'll get mine put out this weekend in case there are any early birds migrating through headed further north.


None yet, but I'm betting we will see some Sunday.


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## RoseRed

I bought a feeder in the fall, thanks for the reminder.


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## jazz lady

There have already been sightings into the Philly area.  This page has a map where you can see the reported sightings.  The one at hummingbirds.net is no more.  









						Hummingbird Migration Spring 2019. Migration Map for Spring 2019.
					

Hummingbird Migration Spring 2019. Our Migration Map has up to the minute LIVE hummingbird sightings posted by our followers. Post your sightings to our hummingbird migration map for the Spring 2019.




					www.hummingbird-guide.com


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## NextJen

jazz lady said:


> This page has a map



Thanks!


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## Grumpy

jazz lady said:


> There have already been sightings into the Philly area.



Fake news, they always come to my house first.


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## my-thyme

I start seeing them when the pine pollen starts clouding the sky.


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## Ken King

This site shows an observation in LP City on 3/31/19 - https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2019-map.htm


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## glhs837

Might swing down the Ridge Hardware, they showed some really nice new feeders on their FB page.


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## GWguy

Just put mine up.

FWIW, I had two up last year, one with bee guards and one without.  The hummers would not use the one with guards.  Once I took them off, the hummers started using it.  I'm not using bee guards this year.  The feeders I have are pretty bee-resistant and ant anyway.


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## RoseRed

I took mine apart and filled the 2 sections.  I then promptly forgot how to put them back together.  SO I have one hanging.


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## Ken King

GWguy said:


> Just put mine up.
> 
> FWIW, I had two up last year, one with bee guards and one without.  The hummers would not use the one with guards.  Once I took them off, the hummers started using it.  I'm not using bee guards this year.  The feeders I have are pretty bee-resistant and ant anyway.


Never done the bee guards, when I notice bees I take a 16 ounce plastic bottle and do a 50/50 mixture of sugar and water, about half full.  The bees go in and when I get enough I put the lid on, shake it and then remove the lid to catch more.  They get coated with sugar and eventually drown.  Two years ago I filled about 15 to 20 bottles, last year no bee problem.


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## GWguy

Ken King said:


> Never done the bee guards, when I notice bees I take a 16 ounce plastic bottle and do a 50/50 mixture of sugar and water, about half full.  The bees go in and when I get enough I put the lid on, shake it and then remove the lid to catch more.  They get coated with sugar and eventually drown.  Two years ago I filled about 15 to 20 bottles, last year no bee problem.


Ah.  So _you're_ the reason for the honey bee hive collapse.....


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## Ken King

GWguy said:


> Ah.  So _you're_ the reason for the honey bee hive collapse.....


Nope, not me.  Don't use pesticides on the property at all.  It's you flatlanders doing it.


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## NextJen

First sighting, April 14!  Just saw a male at my feeder about half an hour ago!


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## GWguy

Nothing here yet.  Changed out the nectar this morning.


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## Ken King

Saw one this morning and the leaves are just starting to pop up here in the hollow.


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## RoseRed

No birds yet, but I have bees!


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## NextJen

RoseRed said:


> No birds yet, but I have bees!


Yes! Tons of bees! I feel like we are really getting to experience a nice Spring this year - not just jumping straight from Winter to Summer.


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## RoseRed

NextJen said:


> Yes! Tons of bees! I feel like we are really getting to experience a nice Spring this year - not just jumping straight from Winter to Summer.


I hope so!  I met a friend up at National Harbor today for lunch and it was such a nice day.  A bit on the  muggy side.  I'm now waiting for the storms to roll in.


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## NextJen

NextJen said:


> First sighting, April 14!  Just saw a male at my feeder about half an hour ago!



The little guy I saw the other day may have been migrating to further north. I haven't seen any since that one sighting.


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## RoseRed

I saw my first one a few minutes ago!


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## kwillia

I filled up our feeders this past weekend... gonna have to stare at them...


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## RoseRed

I was on the porch and the little bugger zipped on up and took a sip-n-seat!


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## frequentflier

My porch is ordinarily full of potted annuals that attract the hummingbirds.  I was late getting them this year so I bought a feeder and mix; not knowing if the hummers would show. We got a hit right away and in fact, one dive bombed me when I was putting the annuals out (along with more potted perennials) a couple of days ago. 
I could sit and watch my porch all day with birds, squirrels, hummers and flutterbys!


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## luvmygdaughters

Saw 3 over the weekend, feeding at the feeders and honeysuckles.


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## glhs837

Ours just showed up over the weekend.


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## luvmygdaughters

frequentflier said:


> My porch is ordinarily full of potted annuals that attract the hummingbirds.  I was late getting them this year so I bought a feeder and mix; not knowing if the hummers would show. We got a hit right away and in fact, one dive bombed me when I was putting the annuals out (along with more potted perennials) a couple of days ago.
> I could sit and watch my porch all day with birds, squirrels, hummers and flutterbys!


I'm with you! My husband feeds the squirrels unsalted nuts, the birds get seed, well, the blue jays get peanuts along with the squirrel.  We have named two mockingbirds that seem to love to hang in our back yard and go through their whole musical repertoire!  Really, I cant be sure its the same two birds, but, pleasant to listen too.


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## GWguy

I have yet to see one hummer.


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## Ken King

Just hung the second feeder off the front porch, starting to get pretty active.  I've got 6 that I can recognize.   I usually end up with a couple dozen.

Out back I have 4 rabbits, 6 deer, 5 turkeys, more squirrels and doves than I can count, blue jays, cardinals, robins, orioles, a mess of chipmunks, and several red-headed wood peckers.


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## luvmygdaughters

Forgot about the cardinals and wood peckers, have our share of them also.  Havent seen any robins though.


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## GWguy

Just saw the first one, a male ruby.


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## acommondisaster

Any tips on ant traps? My feeder is full of ants.


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## acommondisaster

GWguy said:


> Just saw the first one, a male ruby.


I've got Japanese Iris in front of the house - I've had rubies all week in the iris.


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## jaksprat

acommondisaster said:


> Any tips on ant traps? My feeder is full of ants.


I wipe some motor oil on the arm of the metal bracket that holds the feeder. The ants won't touch it. The oil lasts a long time (over a month) since my feeder is under an eave. I'm not sure how long it'll last otherwise. Also I'm not sure what other type oils will work.


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## Kyle

Do you have hummingbirds that look like this?


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## my-thyme

The chilly, rainy days really bring them out. They need lots of food to have the energy to keep themselves warm. If you've been feeding them, make sure those feeders are full right now, they need it.


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## jaksprat

Kyle said:


> Do you have hummingbirds that look like this?


No. I believe that one is known as the Pelosi Nut Sucker and is native only to the west coast.


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